Study shows blacks more likely to be shot than whites even when holding harmless objects

A study that used virtual reality stimulation found that "given a fraction of a second to respond to images of men popping out from behind garbage dumpsters, people were more likely to shoot blacks than whites."

The study may shed some light on why blacks are more likely to be victims of police shootings. So far this year, 21 people have been shot by police, six of the fatally. Most of the victims of police shooters in Chicago have been minorities.

You can argue that most of the victims of police shootings are black because most of the confrontations between citizens and police occurs in minority neighborhoods. But this study raises troubling questions about hidden biases.

The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, was conducted by Anthony G. Greenwald, Professor of Psychology, University of Washington.